Page 4 - BrockCoNewsletterJulyAugust-2021.indd

Spice It Up: VANILLA BEAN

Vanilla bean is a dark brown bean pod, very easy to use. To use vanilla beans, slice
which is long and skinny and is the “fruit” open the pod with a sharp knife, scrape out
of the vanilla orchid plant. These orchids the tiny black beans found inside and add
grow in warm, tropical climates, and most them to the recipe. In addition to using
of the world’s supply of vanilla beans are the spice to fl avor recipes, the whole vanilla
from Madagascar. There are approximately bean pods can infuse fl avor into sugars,
110 varieties of vanilla orchids. syrups, or liquors.
Vanilla beans are generally processed into a One quick tip: If you have vanilla beans
vanilla extract and are a common ingredient in your spice drawer that have become
used to fl avor sweet foods like desserts, hardened and dehydrated, you can rehydrate
sauces, frozen confections, and beverages. them. Soak them in milk or warm water for
Depending on what a recipe calls for, a few hours, and then they can be sliced
you can use the actual beans to fl avor the open and used.
dessert. Using the seeds vs. the extract can Source:
add texture, intense fl avor, color, and are https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caraway

Trend Watch:

PUFFED SNACKS

With an ever-changing dynamic in the Because there is such a wide range of
food world, consumers will regularly see options, looking at the food labels for the

di erent products popping up on shelves. pu s you choose is recommended. Be sure
One item that may have caught your eye to check the fi ber, protein, and saturated fat
is PUFFS. No, not cheese pu s, but snack content. Try to select a pu that contains

pu s. You might be thinking, what on earth two to three grams of fi ber, more than 2

are they? Pu ed snacks take form when grams of protein, and less than 1 gram of
ingredients are forced through a tube with a saturated fat.
tiny opening causing moisture to vaporize,
causing the solids to form a pu . Source:

https://www.healthandwellnessalerts.berkeley.

Foods popping up on shelves in pu form edu/blog/are-pu ed-and-popped-snacks-
are generally found in the savory snack healthy/
department and were previously made https://www.snackandbakery.com/
mostly of cornmeal. Pu ed snack options articles/94981-state-of-the-industry-2020-

are evolving to include chickpeas, popcorn, pu ed-and-extruded-snacks-grow-through-
butternut squash, peanut butter, brown innovation
rice, potato, and fava beans. Sweet options
are also trending using a fruit base like a
fruit crisp or fruit straw.